E.J. Montini began writing news columns for The Arizona Republic shortly before the first governor in state history was impeached, continued doing so as another governor was indicted and resigned, and has carried on over 25 years through out-of-control urban sprawl, unchecked illegal immigration, increasing daily temperatures, decreasing rainfall and recession. Coincidence?

Rep. Foot-in-Mouth strikes again

I received a telephone call from a reader Wednesday who said I had rudely and unfairly characterized Rep. Trent Franks in a blog posted on azcentral.com, adding that if I had “any decency” I would immediately remove it.

The sentence was:

Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona isn’t the kind of politician who sticks his foot in his mouth; he’s the kind of politician who never takes his foot out of his mouth.

I did not remove it.

Not because I don’t have any decency, although an argument for that assumption could be made. And has been made.

Many times.

It’s just that I have had occasion to write about Franks since the 1980s and he has suffered from political hoof-in-mouth disease all that time.

And always over the same issue – abortion.

Rep. Franks doesn’t like being referred to as a one-issue politician. But he is.

Franks currently is proposing legislation that would ban abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy (current law bans abortions after viability, about 24 weeks.)

Not only would Franks ban abortions sooner than currently is legal but he does not want there to be exceptions in the case of rape or incest.

Already there have been several Congressional Republicans who’ve proved their ignorance on this issue, as when Missouri Rep. Todd Akin said the female body can prevent pregnancy from occurring after a “legitimate rape.”

Franks’ proposal was being considered in the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday and Franks was fighting a Democratic amendment to make exceptions for rape and incest.

He said, “Before, when my friends on the left side of the aisle here tried to make rape and incest the subject — because, you know, the incidence of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low.”

And because the number is low there should be no exceptions?

Rape and incest victims should simply accept it?

This sort of thing isn’t new with Franks.

He was first elected to public office in 1984, earning a spot in the Arizona Legislature.

Already he was known as an anti-abortion zealot, which perhaps explains reports from the day of the election from people saying they’d seen pregnant women in the district carrying signs with the slogans, ”Save My Baby, Vote Trent Franks,” and, ”Glenn Davis (Frank’s opponent) Is A Baby Killer.”

Two years later Franks lost his reelection bid but he eventually was selected by Gov. Evan Mecham (who would be impeached and removed from office) to be the head of the governor’s Office for Children.

While in that capacity Franks said of Planned Parenthood, ”An organization that would murder children for profit simply doesn’t rate very highly with me.”

In 1992 Franks headed an organization called Arizonans for Common Sense, which collected enough signatures to put a measure on the ballot that would have banned all abortions in Arizona except those required to save the life of the woman.

It failed to pass.

During his time in Washington Franks’ anti-abortion screeds have managed as well to offend African Americans and Asians.

A few years back he told a video blogger that abortion has been worse for African-Americans than slavery, saying, “Far more of the African-American community is being devastated by the policies of today than were being devastated by the policies of slavery.”

He also has contended that “the practice of sex-selection abortion is demonstrably increasing here in the United States, especially but not exclusively in the Asian immigrant community.”

Franks once described President Barack Obama as “an enemy of humanity” who does “insane things.” His spokeswoman explained the remarks by saying the congressman was speaking of the president’s “surrounding himself with radical, pro-choice advisers.”

All of this is occurring at a time when Republicans are hoping to court the female vote.

I don’t mean to be rude by suggesting the congressman continually sticks his foot in his mouth.

But if the shoe fits?

(Column for June 13, 2013, Arizona Republic)

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